Moonstone: June’s Third Birthstone

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June’s third birthstone, moonstone, was named by the Roman natural historian Pliny, who wrote that moonstone’s shimmery appearance shifted with the phases of the moon.

The most common moonstone comes from the mineral adularia, named for an early mining site near Mt. Adular in Switzerland that supplied this gemstone. This site also birthed the term adularescence, which refers to the stone’s milky glow, like moonlight floating on water.

Moonstone is composed of microscopic layers of feldspar that scatter light to cause this billowy effect of adularescence. Thinner layers produce a bluish sheen, and thicker layers look white. Moonstone gems come in a range of colors spanning yellow, gray, green, blue, peach, and pink, sometimes displaying a star or cat’s eye.

The finest classical moonstones, colorlessly transparent with a blue shimmer, come from Sri Lanka. Since these sources of high-quality blue moonstones have essentially been mined out, prices have risen sharply.

Moonstones are also found in India, Australia, Myanmar, Madagascar, and the United States. Indian gemstones, which are brown, green, or orange in color, are more abundant and affordably priced than their classical blue counterparts.

This beautiful gemstone’s weakness is its relatively low hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale, making it prone to stress cracking and cleaving. Care is required with moonstone jewelry like rings or bracelets; so, sometimes brooches and pendants are preferred for long term durability.

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Published by pat frederick

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122 thoughts on “Moonstone: June’s Third Birthstone”

  1. oh HELL NO!!!
    insert a device into your car to TRACK your mileage…and what else will it track? (so you can PAY a tax on how many miles you drive on ROADS…
    FTA
    In 2015, Oregon began a pilot program charging motorists by the distance their vehicle travels rather than the gas it guzzles.

    To participate, drivers plug a device into their vehicle and create an account to capture mileage data.

    The federal government is about to pilot its own program, funded by $125 million from President Biden’s infrastructure measure that he signed in November 2021.

    So far, only three states, Oregon, Utah and Virginia are generating revenue from road usage charges.

    https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/states-weigh-charging-by-the-mile-as-fuel-taxes-plummet

    Liked by 1 person

    1. This is why I will never, ever buy a new vehicle, whether that be a truck or a car…or a 3-wheeler, which I would love, BTW! LOL

      Liked by 1 person

  5. LOL love the name change

    Richard Milne
    June 26, 2023 12:49 pm

    Some media keep referring to “Joseph Robinette Biden”. Not casting aspersions toward his ancestors, but shouldn’t it be “Joseph Marionette Biden” — after all, he IS a puppet. And it must never be forgotten that “Saint Barack” dearly wanted the corrupt Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court. We dodged a bullet on that one.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. “Could Wagner attack Kyiv from Belarus? Wagner already has operations in Belarus”
    June 26, 2023
    editor: REMIX NEWS author: MAGYAR NEMZET

    FILE – Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, arrives during a funeral ceremony at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery in Moscow, Russia, on April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/File)

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “After aborting his march on Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, was reportedly headed to Belarus. Now, at least one British ex-general is voicing concern that Wagner could launch an attack against Kyiv from Belarus.

    The former U.K. army chief, General Lord Richard Dannatt, said if Prigozhin gathers an “effective force” around him there, it would be a threat to Ukraine again. Wagner has been one of the most important forces in Russia’s fight against Ukraine, and despite serious losses, it is battle-hardened and could prove even more effective than the Russian army’s previous assault on Kyiv. “Apparently, he’s left the stage to go to Belarus but is that the end of Prigozhin and the Wagner Group? The fact that he’s gone to Belarus is I think a matter of some concern,” said Dannatt.

    As Remix News recently reported, on Friday, the Wagner mercenary group leader declared war on the Russian Ministry of Defense and said he would march on Moscow in what appears to be a coup attempt. However, as he was advancing toward Moscow, after all-day talks with Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, Prigozhin gave up his plans, ordered his troops back, and was reportedly headed to Belarus.

    Prigozhin may already have a base of support in Belarus. According to press reports, a group of Wagner mercenaries is already stationed in Belarus, training officers of a Belarusian security company, GardService, to take part in combat operations.

    A company employee told the press last summer that the Wagner soldiers arrived in Minsk in late July and August. The representative of the United Provisional Cabinet for Defense and National Security, Valery Sakhaschik, had earlier said that GardService was the only company allowed to hold firearms under Lukashenka’s decree.

    In recent months, GardService has significantly increased its staff, and there was also talk that it was preparing to participate in military operations in Ukraine. This is not the first time Belarusian involvement in the war in Ukraine has been reported in the press, but no concrete evidence of this has been found so far.

    The company is run by a former soldier of the Belarusian Special Forces Brigade, Yevgeny Chanov. According to press reports, GardService’s employees are to be used in sabotage and reconnaissance teams and later as part of Wagner mercenaries for attacks. Launched in Belarus in June 2020, Valery Sakhaschik has stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin invested a very substantial amount of money in GardService to create the Belarusian equivalent of Wagner.

    Prigozhin’s whereabouts are unclear at the moment, and there are no reports that he has actually arrived in the post-Soviet country.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Nope….did a little search…betting this is satire…

      EXCERPT: “He’s not wrong. The Solicitor General has already appeared before the Senate Select Committee on litigation and asked for the money up front, so there’s no delay in “keeping the case quiet.” Unfortunately, that’s the last thing Trump wants.

      “What I want is revenge,” he said, “and I don’t need to follow standard laws or worry about silly indictments to get what I want. I’m the rightful leader of the American Empire and it’s about time people started paying me the respect I’m due.”

      Hearing him say “Empire” out loud is nothing short of exhilarating, patriots. We’ve waited a long time for someone worthy of doing away with dumb stuff like elections and equal representation. Let’s hope he reduces the court to the five good justices while he’s at it.”

      https://newsc5.com/2023/06/22/trump-files-400-million-defamation-suit-against-schiff-fbi-within-minutes-of-the-censure-vote/

      “Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.”
      https://newsc5.com/

      Liked by 1 person

  15. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

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